"Other players wouldn't have even gone out on the pitch. It was wonderful to feel the warmth of my fans.

"Delio Rossi and I were agreed on the fact that I didn't have 90 minutes in my legs. If Mauricio Pinilla had been fully fit, I wouldn't have played. I still don't have all my pace."

When asked about his relationship with Javier Pastore, the 31-year-old denied claims that they had argued.

"I love Javier, it's clear. When he arrived, he was lost and I took charge of him, just as I did with Abel Hernandez.

"I have always tried to make him feel at ease as you need to do with 20-year-olds.

"Well, I didn't like his attitude against Genoa and I had a go at him in the interval. It would be wrong of me to deny it. But it's not true that we argued. I respect him and I am not jealous or envious of him."

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